News

KEVIN KEEGAN insists Manchester City are not being strangled by end-of-season inertia, but it is difficult to concur. They are safe in mid-table, and if this display is anything to go by their mind is on the beach, their campaign on the wane.

This was a contest in name only, the lack of discernible effort perhaps understandable, though not excusable, from two clubs eager to avoid the referee’s displeasure as they scramble for a back-door route into Europe via the much derided Fair Play League.

Passion, commitment, urgency, heart — you name it, this contest lacked them all in equal measure.

The search for memorabilia to take on the imminent move to the City of Manchester Stadium will not include a video of this fiasco. With three first-team games left, Maine Road deserves a more fitting send-off. Rarely in its 80-year history can it have hosted a fixture as pallid.